Turkish onslaught paves way for major assault on Iraq Kurds

Turkish forces used jets and heavy artillery to pound the bases of Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq yesterday, as a prelude to a major assault in the coming days. Turkish news agencies reported more troops moving towards the remote border area.

Military spokesmen in Ankara claimed that seven of its troops and 79 rebels from the nationalist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had been killed in fierce fighting yesterday and overnight.

The PKK claimed that Turkish losses outnumber its own. 'After clashes yesterday ... 22 Turkish soldiers were killed. Not more than five PKK soldiers were wounded,' Ahmed Danees, head of foreign relations for the PKK, said, talking by satellite phone from an undisclosed location.

With the fighting taking place in the snowbound Qandil mountains, which straddle the Iraqi-Turkish border, verification of the conflicting estimates was difficult. Turkey is thought to have deployed 1,000-3,000 soldiers and dozens of helicopter gunships in an operation aimed as much at attracting international attention to the continuing presence in Iraq of the PKK, as destroying the group's mountain bases.

'The intervention is designed to send a strong signal. For months, there has been a game of bluff and counter-bluff. Now the Turks are saying "We are a sovereign nation and we will act when we feel our security is threatened",' said John Gearson, a specialist in terrorist groups at King's College London.

The PKK has been fighting for decades for independence or autonomy for Turkey's large Kurdish minority. It has launched a series of bloody strikes on Turkish military targets in recent months: yesterday a Turkish soldier was killed and another wounded in a landmine explosion in the Turkish province of Bingöl, nearly 200 miles from the border, according to local media.

Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, yesterday called for the operation to end 'as soon as possible'. He told the BBC: 'If it goes on, I think it could destabilise the region, because one mistake could lead to further escalation.'

The offensive was the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Turkey's army is believed to have carried out unacknowledged 'hot pursuits' in recent years, with small groups of troops staying in Iraq for as little as a few hours.

Turkey staged about 20 attacks in Iraq during the rule of Saddam. Some Turkish offensives, including several in the late Nineties, involved tens of thousands of soldiers.

However, results were mixed, with rebels suffering combat losses but regrouping after Turkish forces withdrew. The Qandil mountains are a natural stronghold and the PKK has spent many years preparing for an assault, digging in bunkers, trenches and ammunition dumps. Many of the PKK fighters, however, are young and inexperienced. A high proportion of the 5,000 militants estimated to be in the group's bases are women.

Turkey's government has complained frequently that the Iraqis are not doing enough to stop guerrilla operations. The Turkish air force has been carrying out air raids on PKK forces in the north since December with the help of intelligence provided by the US, a Nato ally. More than two decades of fighting in southeastern Turkey have claimed as many as 40,000 lives.